Is democracy in Indonesia an alternative to religion?

Ignas Kleden ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 03/05/2008 2:16 AM  |  Opinion

When you talk with people at a district level in Indonesia about democracy, you might be surprised if someone stands up during discussions and asks, "is a democratic system an alternative to religion?"

Of course, we are all well aware that most Indonesian communities are still very religiously-oriented, but this remains a serious question.

People believe religion has provided them with sufficient guidance on how to behave in private and public life, so why should they listen to an outsider telling them what democracy is all about or how people can live and act as good citizens?

As naive as this question may seem, it should be dealt with carefully otherwise suspicion about democracy may arise, causing unnecessary commotion.

We can respond firstly by answering "no", but then further explanation is needed.

This anecdote may not demonstrate so much the need to talk clearly about democracy, as the need to find suitable metaphors and analogies to provide a didactically successful answer.

Democracy can by no means become an alternative to religion, simply because it is totally different in nature. Where the teachings of religion focus on the perfection of human beings and the glory of God (which both lead to salvation), democracy never promises a perfect human condition. Its point of departure is the very imperfection of human beings.

In other words, democracy becomes necessary because human beings are imperfect. The ideal of democracy is not to make human beings more perfect from time to time (which might become an ideal of religions), but to forestall a situation where the imperfections of one will be detrimental to the security of others.

Religious preaching tells us to keep the drive towards corruption under control and, if possible, eliminate all corrupt ideas. Democracy, however, takes the human tendency toward corrupt behavior into account, but creates no illusion to be able to eliminate it.

It does, however, provide legal mechanisms to handle corruption, such that those who are tempted to corrupt, and perhaps have opportunities to use public funds for private purposes, are prevented from doing so for fear of the repercussions.

In such cases people are prevented from corruption, not so they can become morally more perfect, but so there is no action inflicting a loss of public funds that might harm the welfare of other citizens.

In this sense, democracy basically does not deal with human virtues and perfectibility, but negotiates with human mistakes and fallibility. The ultimate goal of democracy is not a moral one but, rather, civilian and political in nature. It is civilian because it gives security and predictability to the life of the citizens. It is political because it has something to do with the intertwining of private and public life.

If a young girl is punished by her mother to the extent of persecution, this becomes a domestic affair that normally belongs in the private sphere. According to religious teachings this might be a sin against parental love. However, regardless of it being a sin or not, activists from NGOs for child protection might bring this case to the mass-media and manage to have it reported extensively on TV.

This action aims to protect children from domestic violence by making it a public issue so that children's rights to security and protection can be assured. By making it public it is hoped this bad practice will not be reiterated in other families because it is under the observation and control of the public sphere.

Conversely, the general aims and ideals of Millennium Development Goals can only be understood and made relevant to broader community if translated into more tangible, concrete and contextual needs and solutions.

Politics in a democratic sense means taking particular issues and giving them more universal attention and interest, and contextualizing general issues into more particular needs and challenges.

Paradise is gone, and nobody believes it will come back. Religions do not believe it will either, but there is a tacit conviction that, if one abides faithfully by religious teachings, a paradise-like situation will occur in our world.

Democracy never pretended to be able to create heaven on earth, but believes in its ability to forestall the creation of hell on earth.

The writer is a sociologist and Chairman of the Indonesian Community for Democracy (KID), Jakarta.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.